Things I Almost Remember
by BelovedShadow
Summary: It takes only a moment to know someone, and a lifetime to forget them. Itachi and Sasuke were separated at a young age, but the love they once shared will be forever intact. Even if one of them has no idea why... ItaSasu YAOI
1. Putting The Pieces Into Place

**Disclaimer: This fanfic isn't blah blah blah, and I don't own blah blah blah**

**Warning: There will be yaoi...**

**A/N: I miss ItachiSasukeSama... she's gone for five whole days... what am I gonna do without her? *sigh* Gomen, I know you guys don't care about my personal issues..**

**Dedication: Dedicated to ****Nymphetamine Queen/ ItachiSasukeSama/ Kitten/ Princess/ whatever the fuck you decide to call her- because I love and miss her SOOOOOO much!**

**Enjoy!**

"You're pushing him too hard, Fugaku!" Mikoto shrieked, horrified that at only five years old she had looked down at her son and seen red eyes looking back up at her.

"He's developing quickly, Mikoto. There's nothing wrong with that." Fugaku insisted, rolling up the scroll that he had been looking over. It had Itachi's training schedule on it, and no matter how many times his wife argued that it had to be slimmed down, he simply did not see any room for amendment.

"There wouldn't be anything wrong with that if he was developing quickly at his _own _pace! Your forcing this onto him! It's not fair to him, and you will _not _be allowed to do the same with Sasuke!"

Fugaku froze, and glared at his wife. "Excuse me? For a moment I thought you were under the impression that you can tell _me _how to raise _my _sons. Surely, you couldn't have been thinking something so outrageous. It's too soon to tell if Sasuke has any potential yet, but trust that if he _does _it will not be wasted."

Mikoto held her position and crossed her arms, glaring right back at the man with equal aggression. "Fine. If you intend on claiming Itachi as only _your _son then keep him! I'll let him go. Oh, and while you're at it, how about you go find a wife who is more willing to be owned, because you can consider yourself a bachelor again from this day forward!"

"Really, Mikoto? You're threatening me with a divorce? Again? Isn't this getting a little old?" Fugaku asked, sincerely sounding quite bored and uninterested.

"I love you, Fugaku; but I love my children more. You men don't understand the strength of a mothers love, and you never will. If being away from you and Itachi means that Sasuke will have a chance at a life out from under your iron fist then so be it."

Fugaku nodded along without really listening to what his wife was saying to him. He didn't take her seriously- he never did. However, there was one person in the Uchiha estate who _had _absorbed every word, and who _did _realize how deathly serious Mikoto was. This person, was none other than Itachi Uchiha himself, and he sat outside of his parent's bedroom, holding his eight month old baby brother close to his chest.

Sasuke was very comfortable in the land of dreams, with one hand firmly grasping his brother's tongue, and the finger of his other hand stuck in one of the loops of Itachi's necklace. He always liked to play with it as he fell asleep and often got his tiny fingers caught in the middle circle. Itachi, however, was much too distraught to notice the babe's unfortunate finger-jam situation, as he eavesdropped on the argument that would change his life forever.

**| ~ Fifteen ~ Years ~ Later ~ |**

"You've finished preparing everything that you'll need?"

"Hai, Otousan."

"You've made sure that all of your weapons are sharp, and packed in a way that they won't scratch or break each other?"

"Hai, Otousan."

"You've looked over the mission scroll at least five times?"

"Hai, fifteen times, Otousan."

"You'll be on time to meet with the rest of your team?"

"If I leave within the next four hours, I shall be an hour early, Otousan."

"Good, Itachi. As usual you have gone above and beyond the Hokage's expectations."

"Still farther to go until I meet yours, I expect?" The weasel asked with a slightly playful smile. He had a good relationship with his father, they understood each other in their own way.

"You always meet my expectations, Itachi. All I expect of you is to be the best that you can be."

"Of course, Otousan." Itachi replied with a careful bow. He straightened up once more and began to step out of the room- still facing his father so as not to show the man his back; but when he reached the doorway, he paused.

Fugaku watched as Itachi's mouth opened slightly, only to close again- as if he was going to say something but thought better of it.

"Was there something else that you wanted, Itachi?"

"Hm? Oh, well... there was one thing. Merely out of curiosity... not a very productive request, I'm afraid. It's just, since I'll be twenty-one this summer, and moving out of the house, it's sort of been on my mind where I wanted to go, and what I wanted to do."

"You've already expressed to me in your own way that you have no desire to work for the police force, Itachi. You don't have to sugar-cote it if your trying to officially make a statement."

Itachi nodded. "Well, it has to do with that... but also, there's something else. Do you mind if I steal another few moments of your time to show you something?"

Fugaku shrugged. "Go ahead, son."

Itachi reached into his pocked and pulled out a very familiar object. "This is a very high quality elite class shuriken." he said simply, throwing the star-shaped weapon onto the ground so that it stuck perfectly in the center of the rug.

Fugaku nodded as Itachi pulled out a similar, but unfamiliar object. "_This _is also a shuriken, however it's one that I hand-made myself."

Itachi aimed his next throw at exactly the same point, and the second shuriken sliced evenly through the first with no effort.

Fugaku smiled and clapped lightly, smiling at his son. "You've yet again redefined the term '_elite_'. So, why are you showing me this?"

"I want to sell them. Ninja-tools. It's a fail-proof business in this area of Japan. Every village has a Ninja system, and every village makes their own tools. Imagine a company selling tools that excel over everything else that exists. Once word spreads out, villages will _have _to buy them. Say one village buys and another village doesn't? The village that buys tools from my company will now have a major military advantage over the other village, so now that village will have to buy from me as well. Eventually, this leads to me being the only seller of Ninja-tools for every hidden village- and they can never stop buying, because even if my tools never get dull or damaged, more and more parents are sending their kids to ninja-academies, and that's more and more ninja-tools that need to be purchased for those children, especially because our beloved youth have such a innate ability to break things. I expect to be quite successful."

Fugaku smiled proudly. "You'll do excellently; but you understand that something like that isn't a business that you can run alone. You'll be the chairman of the board of directors, obviously. What about your CEO? That's the actual figurehead in businesses like this."

Itachi nodded. "I know. That's actually what I've been so nervous to talk to you about..."

"You might as well spit it out now."

"I think it's... natural, if you will, that the entirety of the company remains in the family... it's very important that the face of the company and the head of the company don't have different motives."

"Itachi, I'm much too old to be CEO of a budding company, and I have the police force to run. You don't have any other family."

"Actually, Otousan... I was hoping to get in contact with Sasuke."

Fugaku looked at his son as if the man was speaking a foreign language. "Sasuke? Sasuke _Uchiha_?"

"Yes, of course."

"How do you even remember him? He wasn't even a year old when you got separated in the divorce, what makes you so sure that he can be trusted with such a serious position?"

Itachi shrugged. "He's my little brother. I remember my love for him, and through that, I remember him. As far as whether or not he's trustworthy, I like to hope that any brother of mine would be as good a person as I am, but I'll still test him a little anyway. He's not old enough yet to take over a company, so he's got a long way to go before I can actually give him the position."

"Oh, right... he'd be... how old?"

"He'll turn sixteen about a month and a half after I turn twenty-one. Since he's being raised around mother's side of the family, at that point he'll probably start branching out and looking for a place to live during his higher education, unless he's also chosen the Ninja way of life- which I doubt mother would allow. I can't imagine a sixteen year old wanting to live with his mother."

"So you'll play as a mentor of sorts and judge his character for the next few years, until he's ready to take over the business?"

"Exactly. He shouldn't remember me at all... so... that won't be an issue." Itachi replied somewhat sadly.

"And if you run into your mother and she recognizes you and tells him, then what?"

"Then I play dumb."

"So this is why you told the Hokage that the mission you're leaving for tonight is your last."

"Hai. After this mission, I give up my position as ANBU captain, and allow the new business to be my top priority. I'd like to see it remain in the family, but if I can't find Sasuke and convince him to trust me without telling him who I am, then I suppose I can find someone else."

Fugaku rose from his seat and gave Itachi a prideful pat on the back. "You're doing very well, Itachi. You've truly made me proud to have raised you."

Itachi beamed, he didn't smile, but his happiness radiated nonetheless. "Thank you, Otousan. You have no idea how much that means to me."

He bowed low, and exited the room, finishing up preparation for his mission, and beginning preparation for his future.

**A/N: Not too terrible, I hope? **

**Let me know with a review!**

**Also drop by my profile and take my poll, if you so desire. **

**I love you for reading!**

**-Beloved**


	2. Birthday Expectations

**A/N: Your reviews have earned you another chapter! Yay for you! I'm trying to get a couple updates done this weekend, so look out for my other fics as well! :)**

**Enjoy!**

"Sasuke? What's wrong, darling, are you alright in there?"

The teen sighed and let his body fall limp and slide down against the door. He curled his knees against his chest and held them firmly in place with his arms, refusing to allow his legs to tremble.

"I'm just fine, Okaasan! D-don't worry over me!" He called out shakily.

It wasn't until the first lukewarm droplet fell against his bare knees that Sasuke realized he was crying. What an idiot he was. Everyone would be worried, everyone would be upset. He was crashing his own party.

Taking deep breaths in and out, the Uchiha studied the familiar bathroom with slow observant eyes. He'd done this countless times before. There were four hundred and eighty-eight little tiles on the ground. one hundred and sixty-four panels of cedar wood making up the walls, nine water stains on the ceiling above the shower, and three dots of nail polish that had accidentally fallen atop the porcelain toilet seat when his mother was painting her toenails.

He knew this bathroom quite well, it was his comfort zone. His home within his house, his man-cave. It was the only place he could ever get any damn privacy, and it _barely _served that purpose with an ever-worrisome Mikoto lingering just outside the door.

"Really! I'm fine, you can go!"

After a few moments, Sasuke heard the relieving sound of footsteps leading away from the door. Good. Now, all he had to do was get himself together and everything would be fine.

He was being irrational, anyway. Allowing a brief inexplicable panic-attack to interfere with his own sweet-sixteen was absolutely ridiculous. Everyone was waiting just outside this door... all of his friends- no. He didn't have friends. All of his mother's friend's children, and countless businessmen's children. All lurking around his house like villains, trying to get him to work for them. Sixteen. It was a stupid number, and he hated it. Everyone expected him to move away from home and blindly follow them along and learn their trade.

It was an insult to his intelligence, really. They all wanted him because he was such a prodigy, and yet, none of them considered that his genius would exceed academic skills and also apply to life skills- therefore making him uninterested in being captured by the claw of a big-name cooperation so early in life.

Sasuke chuckled to himself. Once he opened the door, they would pounce. All of them. He had to stop being such a little pansy about it though. How hard could it be to say no to a bunch of snobs in suits? Surely it wouldn't upset his mother too badly when he confessed that he didn't want to marry the beloved Hyuuga heir and have beautiful noble-class children? Or that he had no interest in attaining a share of the hospital's profits by wedding that idiotic Haruno twit? Worse- becoming business partners with that blonde lunatic who thought he could always fix everyone else's problems. No, Sasuke Uchiha had no interest in business; and no interest in women.

The business part would be enough of a let down without coming out of the closet, so he had decided that his homosexuality would have to be a secret kept till the grave, but as for the crazy vultures outside of the bathroom door... _they_ had to be dealt with immediately.

After briefly examining his pitiful reflection to make sure they couldn't tell that they'd actually stressed him to the point of tears- Sasuke bravely opened the door. At first, nothing happened. Then, one by one, they noticed him return to the room.

Giving a defeated sigh, Sasuke cleared his throat and took a steadying breath when all eyes fell on him. All eyes- except for four. There were two figures, who he wasn't at all familiar with, who seemed to be intently examining one of his mother's sculptures and having some sort of whispered debate about it.

Sasuke chose to ignore the mystery guests, assuming them to perhaps be the assistants of some of the businessmen or nobles. He held his head tall and spoke clearly and with pronounced authority.

"Today, as you all are well aware, is my sixteenth birthday. For a young man of my status, this is a time to make a great deal of choices, and begin to walk the path of a civilized, sophisticated, and worthy adult. I understand that all of you have come here today in order to walk along beside me and offer guidance and assistance along the way... However," Sasuke paused and noted the rising tension, he could feel his mother's eyes on him, but he ignored it. "However... I have no desire to receive any aide or good-natured help from any of you. Your daughters are beautiful young ladies, but I have other things on my mind. I'm not ready to enter a life of courtship. Your businesses are prosperous and wealthy, but I was raised with wealth of my own, and feel no need to attain yours. Sorry to be such a disappointment to all of you, but you've wasted your time on me. Feel free to leave whenever you see it fit."

_**Across The Room...**_

"What do you think, Danna?"

"It's a pretty speech. Call Itachi and let him know. I'm going to speak with his mother."

"Un." The blonde replied, watching as his red-headed companion walked over towards their hostess. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed in the number of his new boss.

_rrrriinnngg... riiinnnngggg.._

_"Hello?"_

"Itachi-San?"

_"Yes, what is it?"_

"Sasuke-Kun has announced that he's uninterested in becoming an associate in any businesses, and he's not-"

_"I would have expected as much. That's none of my concern. You're not there for Sasuke right now, remember?"_

"Hai, Sasori-Danna is speaking with her now."

_"Make sure she's completely unconscious within the next minute. Everything will be for naught if she sees me there."_

"Understood. See you soon, then."

_"Hn."_

The blonde let out a breath and jumped slightly when he saw Sasuke standing directly in front of him.

"Uchiha-Kun! Sorry, I didn't see you there... Pleased to meet you!"

"Yes, you too. Who was that you were speaking too just now?" Sasuke asked inquisitively. He'd seen the other mystery man go upstairs with his mother, and was hoping that perhaps she'd finally found some sort of romantic interest. She hadn't left the house to go on a date at any point during his life- always claiming that she was forever in love with his father but had to leave because it was what was best.

"The head of the company I work for, he sent an associate of mine and myself here to inquire about accepting you as an intern, I was phoning to let him know that you're not interested."

Sasuke snorted. "An intern? Everyone else here would be giving me high-ranking work! Of course I'm not interested!"

"Akatsuki Incorporated is still a very new company, please don't misunderstand. We do not yet have the income to take on many well-paid officials, and accepting a teenager into a full-time position would be especially detrimental if something were to go wrong."

"Very nicely said, Deidara. You represent me well."

Sasuke looked behind his back to see another unfamiliar figure... no, this person was familiar somehow, but... still surely not anyone he had any memory of. He gazed awkwardly up at the man, trying to place his face... they hadn't met. He was sure of it. Yet, at the same time, he was also certain that they had spent a great deal of time together. How peculiar.

"You must be Sasuke Uchiha." The man said in a deep voice. Sasuke felt his heart pace increasing, and willed himself not to go hide out in the bathroom again.

"H-hai... and you are?"

"My name is Itachi, I'm the chairman and founder of Akatsuki Inc. When I was told that you were against participating, I thought I'd drop by and try to convince you in person."

Sasuke nodded and continued to stare at the oddly familiar stranger. There was something about this man, something he was drawn to. It was as if he remembered him from a beautiful dream that he'd been abruptly woken from- and all he wanted to do was go back to sleep and return to that imaginary world with him. He had to know him- no, he _knew _him; but from where?

"Nice to meet you, Itachi-San... I think I may consider interning for you, after all."

"Really? That's great. Is there a reason why I've changed your mind so easily?"

Why? Why indeed. Sasuke himself didn't know why, except that he had a strange feeling that he'd lost this man once before, and he wasn't willing to do it again. Was that a good enough reason? No. Still, he had an overwhelming aura of comfort surrounding him, so it would be the reason he'd give.

"Honestly, I just... feel as if you're someone who should be held on to... besides, you know, it's just an internship. I won't be stuck there if I hate it, right?" Sasuke mumbled, looking down at his feet.

When he looked up again, his new acquaintance was looking at him directly and very meaningfully, but he couldn't really tell what emotion was really being portrayed behind those dark eyes.

"Hn." Itachi said simply. Seeing Sasuke again was very startling. It was pleasant, but very odd. He instinctively wanted to embrace the boy, but that wouldn't be at all appropriate.

"Sasori will give you a list of our expectations, and we'll send a car for you next Monday." Deidara cut in, seeing that his boss was at a loss for words.

Itachi gave the artist a thankful glance, before respectively bowing his head to his long-lost little brother and exiting the party with much more on his mind than he'd expected.

The bond was still there. Whatever it was that had made them so inseparable during those first few months together was still there. There- and stronger than ever. It was natural to love your brother, and to have a brother that loved you, but to be able to feel that connection, and that _need _to surround oneself with the other's affection... it shouldn't have lasted this long. They shouldn't still be so attached.

And yet...

Sasuke had said it himself... _someone who should be held on to..._ yes, they would hold on to each other. That was the problem. Itachi had left the ANBU to make his private business his top priority and please his father... but the moment he'd looked Sasuke in the eyes, his priorities had re-arranged themselves.

Without thought. Without reason. Without explanation. Without permission. With nothing but instinct and emotion- Sasuke had become the most important thing in the world to his brother, and although he was completely unaware of that fact- he for some strange mysterious reason... felt the exact same way.

**A/N: Hope you guys are all still with me for this journey! I'm very pleased with the amount of reviews for the pilot chapter, and I hope this one does as well! Also, don't hesitate to stop by my poll! **

**Love for the readers!**

**-Beloved**


	3. First Day of Work

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to ****velvet-prosthesis. Not a single page-break this chapter. It was a challenge, but I like the way it's turned out better, so thank you for that piece of advice. **

**As for the rest of you lovely readers-**

**Enjoy!**

Itachi looked up at the sound of a shy knock on his office door. He smiled softly to himself, then quickly wiped the foreign expression off of his face- only half believing that he'd allowed it to grace his features at all.

"Enter." he called out softly.

His brother- no- his _employee_ walked in confidently, looking very smart in a charcoal gray suit that revealed hints of a royal blue button down underneath.

"I was told to come and see you first thing, Itachi-San?"

"Yes, take a seat, I'll speak with you in a moment."

Sasuke nodded and sat himself down on the burgundy love seat in the corner of Itachi's office. It was a relatively spacious room- a very decent size considering how new the business was. The teen observed with mild curiosity as Itachi carefully read through what seemed like endless paper work, then scribbled something, probably his signature, and looked up.

"Right. Well, I'll be observing you personally over these next few weeks. In my opinion, all employees should be able to do anything I ask at any given moment, so you'll be learning every step of the business, from how to make our products, which-"

"Are all hand-crafted here at headquarters by actual Ninja who are familiar with the needed features of ninja-tools."

Itachi raised an eyebrow- admittedly quite impressed. "You've been researching us, then?"

The younger nodded sincerely. "I thought it would be a good idea to know what I've gotten myself into. So, where do I start?"

"To start, you meet the team. They should all be in the conference room awaiting our arrival. Follow me."

Sasuke studied Itachi's back as he was led down the corridor. There was something oddly familiar about the older man's back. The teen carefully reached out and ran his fingers through Itachi's hair. His boss didn't seem to notice the feeling physically, but he did turn around when Sasuke emitted a small gasp.

"Are you alright?"

"H-Hai..." Sasuke said, staring up at Itachi with wide eyes.

"What is it?" The weasel asked.

"You're hair..."

"What about it?"

"Nothing." Sasuke blurted quickly.

How would he describe it anyway? When he touched Itachi's hair... he felt smaller somehow. Helpless, innocent, untainted- but not in a bad way. It was very strange. Like going back in time for only a mere second.

"Hn. If you insist. We're here now, just through this door."

Itachi opened the door to reveal several other people sitting around a large table. There were three empty seats, Itachi sat at the head and motioned for Sasuke to sit in a seat between the blonde from the party and a blue-haired woman who was glaring at their boss without any sort of restraint- clearly displaying her apparent anger.

The Chairman looked around the table without expression, then gave a nod. "Well, while we wait for Tobi to join us, why don't we get introductions out of the way? I am Itachi, chairman and owner of Akatsuki. Why don't you go next?" Itachi turned to an orange haired young man who was sitting to his right. Their eyes shared some sort of private message and Sasuke could again sense a wave of furious energy from the woman next to him.

"Alright, I'm Yahiko; Itachi's personal assistant." The man spoke in a very soft voice- yet with clear and annunciated words that made his low volume almost unnoticed. Sasuke also noted that this was the only person so far who didn't use honorifics with Itachi's name. That was peculiar. Maybe they were childhood friends.

Next came the man sitting next to Yahiko, he looked lethargic and old, but when he spoke he sounded young and healthy. "My name is Nagato. I serve as the temporary CEO for Akatsuki."

Now the blue-haired woman spoke. "I'm Konan. I usually work with Kakuzu to do payroll and taxes, but I also take charge of printing fliers and other paper related needs for Akatsuki." She said, still not looking away from Itachi once. She spoke sharply and nearly hissed out every sentence.

Sasuke gulped. It was his turn. "I'm Sasuke. I've just been hired as an intern." He mumbled shyly. A woman across the table gave him an encouraging smile and he smiled back at her thankfully.

"I'm Deidara, un. I design and distribute our more hazardous Ninja-tools."

"Sasori. I build them." The redhead tagged on simply.

The next seat was empty, then there was some sort of freakish looking creature.

"We are Zetsu. We are in charge of surveillance."

Sasuke nearly vomited. That thing just looked _gross. _It was creepy to know that it would be watching over him 24/7. Itachi had to hold back a laugh when he noticed Sasuke's disgusted and almost _frightened _expression; but the teen shook away his horror and looked at the next man. This one wasn't much more human. It looked like some sort of man-fish hybrid.

"My name is Kisame I'm the floor manager."

He was quickly followed- if not cut off by- the next person, who didn't really look much older than Sasuke.

"I'm Suigetsu! I'm a Senior intern working directly under Tobi-San!"

Deidara snorted and Kisame rolled his eyes- so Sasuke inferred that whoever Tobi was, working under him wasn't all that impressive.

"I'm Juugo, I work in communications and marketing- using only eco-friendly resources and materials. I make sure that Akatsuki stays environmentally aware and up-to-date. You should come to me if-"

"_I'm _Karin! I'm the only live-in medic that we have! So if you're ever hurt, or you need _anything _...at _all. _Make sure I'm the first person you go to. Alright, Sasuke-Kun?"

"Hn." Sasuke replied in monotone, looking to the person next to Karin for the next introduction without taking any interest in the girls blatant sexual offer. Itachi smirked, proud that his brother hadn't grown to be the type of sixteen year old that jumps on anything with a pulse. However, his prideful ponderings were interrupted by the loud squeal of another employee bouncing into the room.

"GOMENAAAAAAAA!" Tobi yelled as he threw himself into the only empty seat.

Itachi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sasuke, this is Tobi. He's some sort of distant relative of mine and he needed a job. He has no official position. Now, I believe you were about to introduce yourself, Kakuzu?"

"Hai. As Itachi-San said, I'm Kakuzu. I deal with finances."

"TOBI KNOWS HOW TO INTRODUCE _HIMSELF_!"

Tobi was ignored.

"I'm Hidan. I'm a supervisor- so if anyone does anything wrong they deal with _me._"

Sasuke shivered to himself, this man was clearly feared by most of the other workers and he could see why. There was something about him that seemed Sadistic... if not Masochistic... or both.

"Lovely. Now that we're all here and introduced, Yahiko, could you read Sasuke his schedule for the next month?"

"Sure, Tachi."

Konan seethed. Sasuke caught it too that time. Not only was there a lack of honorifics, the orange haired man had addressed their boss with a nickname. Yeah, they were definitely close. Not that it was any of Sasuke's business, but it seemed that some of Konan's upset emotions were affecting him somehow. He instinctively felt... jealous? Nah. Impossible.

"Sasuke-Kun, this week you'll be with Sasori and Deidara learning about our products. At the end of the day, you report to Itachi to let him know how that goes. You'll be reporting to him every day before work and after work- so that part of your schedule will be implied from this point on. Next week you'll work with Konan and Kakuzu in finance. The week afterwards with Tobi, Suigetsu, Hidan and Zetsu in surveillance and security. Then Kisame and Juugo in marketing and management. After that, you'll be spending two weeks with Nagato before ultimately working directly under myself and Itachi. If you forget any of that, Suigetsu has it all written down. You're only a Junior Intern so as of right now, everyone in this room is your superior. Keep that in mind. Understood?"

"Hai."

Yahiko turned to Itachi and smiled gently. In return, Itachi raised a hand to his cheek and stroked it softly. "Yahiko, I'd like to talk to you about something else. The rest of you may go." Itachi murmured almost to himself, not having broken eye contact with his assistant at all.

The first person up and out was Konan. She nearly sprinted out of the room in a fit of anger and Nagato frowned sadly at her, and followed behind. Everyone else filed out slowly and Sasuke trailed behind Sasori and Deidara when they exited. As soon as they got downstairs to the workshop- and safely out of earshot- Deidara burst into a fit of almost maniacal laughter.

"Did you see her _face?_" He cried out hysterically. "If looks could kill! Hahaha!"

Sasori shook his head solemnly. "It's not nice to make fun of her. You only laugh about it because you don't understand how she's feeling right now."

Sasuke studied them as Deidara's expression changed to one of pure adoration. "Danna! That's so sweet! I never knew it bothered you so much when I was Itachi-San's _personal assistant._"

Sasuke gasped- for the first time gaining the attention of his co-workers. "So... Itachi-San... and Yahiko-San..."

"Aren't talking about anything business related in that conference room. Actually, I doubt they're talking at all." Sasori clarified.

"They're up there doing the dirty dance of love! But that's not all, Sasuke-Kun, gossip around here gets much better than that. Konan is in _love _with Yahiko!"

Sasuke gasped again, and his hand flew over his mouth. "Oh my!"

"Un! And better yet, Nagato's in love with Konan! But she doesn't know!"

Sasori rolled his eyes. "You two are gonna spend this whole week gossiping like little school girls aren't you?"

Sasuke and Deidara smirked and nodded- earning a continuation of Sasori's previous eye-roll.

Sasuke merely smiled, glad to have already been accepted by at least two of his new co-workers already. They continued to get along throughout the rest of the day, and he learned about why Akatsuki-made products were so entirely elite compared to all other Ninja tools in existence before-hand. He was fascinated with his new job, and not too put off at the end of the day when he went up to Itachi's office to report.

Before he had a chance to knock, Sasuke paused outside of the door, and pressed his ear to it, shamelessly eavesdropping with the secret hope of hearing his bosses going at it. Sadly, he was disappointed with their conversation.

_"-And send a letter to my mother about his employment. She'll be upset if she feels uninvolved."_

_"Yes, darling. Anything else?" _

_"Not right now. As you're leaving, tell our young new intern that he should breath more quietly if he wants to behave in such a voyeuristic manor." _

Sasuke jumped a little, but shamefully opened the door. At first, he hung his head in embarrassment, but by gazing on the floor he noted that there was a red silk button-down shirt in front of the desk- and concluded that Itachi must have been topless. For some odd reason, knowing that fact made him unable to resist looking at his boss. When his eyes rose from the ground, he was indeed greeted with a half-naked Itachi. He gawked openly at the elder man's chest, taking in every curve and all the while cursing himself internally and wishing that he had better self-control.

"Sorry if my current state of dress offends you, Sasuke-Kun. If you had knocked I would have had time to dress myself appropriately."

"Oh! Sorry... I... Sorry."

Sasuke blushed beautifully and Itachi almost had to catch himself from commenting on it. Even at this age, this was the same adorable little infant who he'd once wanted nothing more than to smother and protect and spoil. He had to remember that whether Sasuke knew it or not- they were _brothers _so it was none of his business whether that blood rushing to Sasuke's cheeks was good for rushing the opposite direction... NONE of his business.

"It's fine. You can leave now, tell me about your day tomorrow."

"Hai." Sasuke said, quickly rushing out of his superiors office. So far, he'd had a very interesting day. Two new friends, a hot boss - who was _taken _- and a bootycall if he needed one. He still wasn't getting paid, but having this job might not turn out to be so bad after all.

**A/N: How are you liking this so far? I know there are a lot of people to keep track of, but most of them are really minor so don't worry about remembering who everyone is. This is an ItaSasu, not some big happy Akatsuki fanfic. It will remain as such. Please drop a review, and if you're also reading Reckless Abandon go take my poll. **

**Thanks and Love for reading!**

**-Beloved**


	4. Curtains, Flower Pots, and Table Cloths

**A/N: I think I'm gonna stop writing beginning authors notes… they're so pointless, and then I never know what to say at the end! Sorry this update took so long. **

**Enjoy!**

"I want the vanilla iced chai, but make sure that you go somewhere with the liquid chai syrup, not the powder. Places with the powder use hot water to dissolve it first, so it gets watery and it's not as cold. Itachi-Chan wants a triple shot of espresso with chocolate sauce and a pump of hazelnut flavoring in it. Just _one _pump, don't go overboard – he wants a cup of coffee, not a jar of Nutella. Pay for mine with the company credit card. Itachi left cash for his on his desk. Don't come back with excuses that there was a long line. We need the drinks in twenty minutes. No exceptions. When you come back, I'll tell you what to do next."

"Of course, Yahiko-San."

"Oh, and Konan?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Pick us up a pack of condoms while you're out, too."

Sasuke blushed slightly to himself as he watched Konan's jaw clench.

"Will that also be with the company card?"

"No, that'd be wrong… just pay out of your own pocket for the condoms, I'll ask Itachi to pay you back later."

"Yahiko-San, I don't exactly feel comfortable purchasing sexual necessities for you and Itachi-San with my own money. Could we perhaps hold off on the condoms until some other time?"

The orange haired man frowned and stared at Konan with harsh eyes. "Oh, yes, of course. While you're at it, how about you drive there with your head sticking out of the sun-roof? Then you can soak yourself in gasoline and light a candle for your deceased intelligence at the nearest church. You know, because apparently safety is something that no longer maters at Akatsuki Inc. Something _funny, _Sasuke-Kun?"

Sasuke quickly placed a hand over his mouth, but his body still shook with private laughter. It would be sad if Itachi was the one flaunting his relationship with Yahiko – but _he _was rather discreet about it. The fact that Konan was in love with Yahiko, and Yahiko himself was the one always waving his homosexuality in her face just made it rather ridiculous to observe. How idiotic did she have to be to see that he wasn't interested? But no, she blamed Itachi. Stupid woman. "No, sir. Nothing funny. I was actually just coming to see where I'm assigned today. I noticed that Itachi isn't here this morning, and my schedule isn't on the bulletin board."

"Right. Konan, we'll discuss this later. Sasuke, you're doing some field work today with Suigetsu and Juugo. Oh, and if you don't mind, take Karin along please. No one really gets injured around here, and I'm starting to feel like we're paying her for no good reason."

Sasuke groaned internally at the idea of having to spend his whole day with those three. Juugo was just all around _weird_, Suigetsu was _too _laid back, and Karin was always all over him – although she did have a gossipy side that he enjoyed from time to time. She had a knack for knowing where people were and who they were with. This would come in especially handy today, since Sasuke found himself in search of one particular raven-haired obsidian-eyed boss of his.

He made his way downstairs and found Juugo and Suigetsu in some sort of silent argument. Juugo was feeding a small bird that they'd found trapped in one of the upper-level windows, and Suigetsu was looking at him with cruel insensitive eyes, as if they were wasting their time.

"Where's Karin?" Sasuke asked, looking around and being unable to help noticing that a curtain he had always assumed to be covering a window was now pulled aside to reveal that there was, in fact, a door behind it. His suspicion increased ten-fold when Suigetsu pointed to that mysterious door, signaling that Karin was behind it. "What's in there?"

"Itachi's private office. I heard that he enters it through a huge painting in his public office, but we found this door about a month ago."

Just as he said it, Karin came tiptoeing out, with a smug yet disappointed look on her face. Sasuke looked at her expectantly. He didn't want to really admit it to himself, but he was suffering from a HUGE crush on Itachi, and doing field work was a perfect excuse to sneak-stalk his boss with a good cover story if he were to get caught. You see, at Akatsuki Inc., when one was told to do "field work" it really meant to go out aimlessly walking and observing people and the way they walked and carried themselves. It seemed pretty useless to everyone, but Itachi insisted that the study of the human body was necessary if you were designing something to be used by people.

"So, what'd you find out in there?" Suigetsu asked, unintentionally saving Sasuke from having to make the embarrassing inquiry.

Karin shrugged. "He's at some fancy five star restaurant. His day planner says he's having brunch there with a woman called Mikoto Uchiha. Can't imagine why though, she's not even a client of ours."

Sasuke stared at Karin in disbelief, mouth agape. His mother wouldn't really go so far as to interfere with his work just because he wouldn't marry into a prestigious family, would she? If so, then why was Itachi taking _her _out? And if not, what the _hell _were they doing?

**XxBxExLxOxVxExDxX**

Itachi was sitting patiently at _Aragawa . _It was one of his preferred restaurants lately, and he regretted being unable to afford coming here often before he joined ANBU. It was exactly the sort of place he'd have loved to be as a child, secluded and peaceful, with delicious food. What's not to love? At least, now that he did have a ridiculously impressive bank account, he was able to eat here as he pleased, and even treat someone every now and again. Today was especially fortunate, because he'd be seeing his mother for the first time in years. Although he was only a young boy when his parents got split up, he remembered Mikoto quite fondly, and hoped that they'd enjoy their meal. After all, he couldn't very well keep Sasuke as his employee without her knowing – or else she'd piece things together before Sasuke did and the poor boy would feel betrayed by him.

Itachi was slightly doubtful though, he'd sent his mother an anonymous note requesting her presence, and hoped that the temptation of eating the best steak in the world would draw her in. As he looked up towards the door, he realized that he was right. How classic. Mikoto Uchiha would go out to dinner with a stranger if it was the right place. That sort of thing was one of the qualities of the woman that Fugaku hated, but Itachi didn't want to think of him today. Today was about his mother, not his father. She was escorted to his table and he smiled softly to her, trying to look encouraging as he saw her eyes land on his face and begin to widen. Her hands trembled and he could tell that she was trying to convince herself that he wasn't who she obviously knew he was. A single tear dripped down her face, and as Itachi frowned and reached to wipe it away, she captured him in a chokingly tight hug, and began lightly sobbing into his shoulder. Unsure what to do in this particular situation, the younger Uchiha simply rubbed calming circle's on the woman's back.

"Calm down now, Mom. You're making a bit of a scene."

She sniffled and nodded, then – clearly with much hesitation and reluctance – separated herself from her first born son, and took her seat.

"Itachi… I… You… You're so grown up… I'm so sorry… I should have… I-"

"Don't worry about it. If I had any resentment towards you at all I wouldn't be here, so there's no need to apologize."

She nodded again, and wiped at her eyes as Itachi handed her a handkerchief from his jacket pocket.

"It's so wonderful seeing you again… You're such a beauty. I wish I'd known it was you, I'd have brought Sasuke… well… No, I suppose I wouldn't have. He's"

"Working; and also completely unaware of the fact that he isn't an only child. Bringing him would have been an unfortunate development, I'm glad you didn't."

Again, Itachi watched as his mother's eyes widened and began to water. "I'm sorry I never told him about you. It would have just made his life more complicated."

"It's fine. Really. Don't feel bad. Actually, I just hired Sasuke as my personal intern, so if it's anyone who's been deliberately holding information from him, it's me."

Mikoto smiled. "That was very sweet of you. I'm afraid he'd be unemployed without you, his birthday party was quite the failure."

At that, Itachi chuckled. He had a strange sense of knowing with Sasuke, even though he hadn't grown up with the child. "I wouldn't have had it any other way. Sasuke may not have been raised as my brother, but I was raised as his. It would feel wrong not to have him in on the family business. I plan on making him my CEO when he's of age to take that position over."

Mikoto nodded along happily, and continued chatting with her son, paying absolutely no mind to the fact that one of the flower pots on the other side of the room had a head poking out amongst a bouquet of blue roses.

"I can't see!" Karin hissed from beside Suigetsu, peeking through a similar bouquet of red roses.

"What do you have to see? Nothing's happening! They're still just talking, and Sasuke's _still _just lurking under the table next to them!"

This was somewhat incorrect. They were talking, and Sasuke _was _under the table next to them, but he was not simply sitting and lurking awkwardly. He was staring. Not at anything in particular. Just as the tablecloth. He knew it was idiotic to be right here, and that the staff would likely have him arrested if they tried to seat someone and he got caught… but his logical mind couldn't process that. There was only one thought that kept filling his head.

_Itachi's my brother… I have a brother… and It's Itachi… and he's my boss… and he's sexy… why is he still sexy?... He's my brother now… Itachi's my brother… Itachi's my brother… Itachi's… so fucking sex-my brother… my sexy brother? He's… Itachi's… fuck._

**A/N: I was inspired to update this by watching **_**The Devil Wears Prada **_**… I dunno why. How'd you like this chapter? Love? Hate? Lemmie know with a review! **

**Love you for reading! **

**-Beloved**


	5. Lovesick

**A/N: Holy cock on a taco, I updated! Crazy, right? Completely unheard of. Yeah, yeah. I get it. No need to get angry. Just read the damn thing already! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Mikoto had long since accepted that Sasuke was a rather troubled boy, but this was really getting out of hand. He'd locked himself in the downstairs bathroom, and refused to come out. This would not be so terribly abnormal for him, had it not lasted for the past three days. As any overly caring mother would, Mikoto dutifully called into Sasuke's job every day and reported the dismal news that he was "sick" with the flu and would be unable to come in to work. This was quite the joy, because it gave her a chance to talk to Itachi, which was something that she very much adored.<p>

At this very moment, her elder son's deep velvety voice sounded quite concerned.

_'Are you sure he doesn't need a hospital, Mom?' _

She beamed, glad to hear the man addressing her in such a way, "Oh, he'll be fine, Itachi. Trust me, I'm taking good care of him."

_'I'm sure you are, I'm just worried.' _His voice sounded not at all suspicious, and Mikoto was half guilty, half proud to have mothered such a kind hearted and pure son who didn't even think twice about letting his intern skip out on him for so long.

"Anyway, how are things going for you?"

When their conversation was over, she padded over to the bathroom and tried what had become the next part of her daily morning ritual.

"Sasuke? Honey, please come out!"

On the other side of the door, Sasuke was ignoring his mother. He was staring rather intently at his left pinky toe, and wondering if he had to push the cuticles, or if it was actually possible to have a lumpy nail. Probably he should push the cuticles down, which would be easier to do in warm water, but he couldn't be bothered to bathe until his mother stopped banging the door down in case she managed to come in. Sasuke's mother had not seen him naked one single time since he noticed his very first pubic hair and he was determined to keep it that way.

Speaking of pubes, it might be about time for him to trim that area up. After all, it wouldn't do for him to get all sexy trying to seduce someone and then reveal the forest between his legs.

Okay, who was he kidding. There was only one person he'd consider seducing and that person was totally and completely not allowed to see him naked, forest or not! Gosh!

How did a lumpy toenail turn into thoughts of seducing Itachi? Sasuke had no idea, but the idea that he and Itachi should have wild passionate sex had flitted through his mind as the conclusion to several mundane things, including but not limited to the fact that he was almost out of toothpaste in here, and the small scratch on his left hand that he'd acquired mysteriously whilst sleeping in the bathtub. Who knows how, but even the disappointing discovery that his mother had filled the tissue box with Kleenex rather than Puffs had lead him to masturbating about his boss, even though his mind insisted on reminding him that his boss was also his brother.

The result of said masturbation had been wiped up in a Kleenex, and luckily, Sasuke's remorse over the fact that they weren't Puffs managed not to inspire another erection. After all, his cock didn't care about Kleenex. That was his nose's issue.

Holy fuck Itachi smelled so good.

Ah! Even his own nose made him think of that sexy bastard! This was getting ridiculous. He hadn't eaten in three fucking days, and he was hungry as hell. Hungry for food. Not for sex. Not for sex with his brother. In fact, the thought that he hadn't eaten did not at all make him wonder what Itachi tasted like and if Itachi would mind Sasuke running his tongue down his cock.

Okay, things are really bad when you start lying to yourself in your own head about what you're thinking. That doesn't even make sense. How is that even possible?

This had to stop. Okay. Sasuke would absolutely and completely get himself into control. Step one: Take hot bath and push back cuticles. Step two: Get rid of pube forest. Step three: Get out of the fucking bathroom and eat!

Right. He'd put the plan into action. Ready, set, go!

**XxBxExLxOxVxExDxX**

Itachi had to say he was rather surprised to see Sasuke come into work when he did. He looked a little thinner than normal, but just slightly. Not in a way that would suggest he was too terribly sick. Hey, whatever. The kid could take a few days off if he wanted. It's not like he was getting paid anyway. The biggest difference wasn't in Sasuke's body, though. Rather, it was in his body _language. _

Before, he'd been shy but outgoing, much to Itachi's amusement. Now, he looked downright terrified. He literally winced whenever Itachi held eye contact with him for too long, and the elder Uchiha had at one point caught his little brother reprimanding himself in near silent mumbles.

It seemed to have been a long day for the intern.

Itachi promptly answered the knock on his office door and smiled as Sasuke stepped in. "I told you that you were free to go already." He reminded the off-balance teen, confused when the child shook his head slightly.

"I've missed too much work… I was hoping you'd let me make it up to you by putting in a couple more hours for the next few days until I make up what I was gone for?"

Good work ethic. Itachi smirked slightly, proud for his brother. "That's not necessary, but if you think it's the right thing to do, I'm certainly not going to force you out of the door."

Sasuke gave a mute sign of confirmation and shuffled his feet slightly, looking down at them for a moment before he seemed to reach the realization that he was still standing in Itachi's office. He scurried off like a spooked mouse. Itachi frowned in thought as Yahiko stepped into his office, uninvited and without bothering to knock.

"Might I have a word with you, Koibito?" The man purred, sliding up behind Itachi's chair.

"Shut up, Yahiko. There's no one to hear." Itachi snapped back, still staring at the door – not because Yahiko had walked in, but because Sasuke had walked _out, _which was somehow significant, though he had no idea why.

"Itachi don't be so snappy. We have an arrangement, remember?"

"Yes. Nagato's a good friend of mine, and I understand how important this all is, but no one is here to hear us, so can we please drop the act for just one fucking minute? I'm trying to think." Itachi barked out, cocking his head at the door in an attempt to discover why it eluded him so.

Yahiko shrugged, and sprawled across Itachi's desk, gazing idly at his friend and wondering what their relationship would be like if there really _was _a romantic factor.

"Sasuke has a crush on me!" Itachi blurted out suddenly, causing the orange haired man on his desk to flinch a little at the shocking sound.

"Well that's not exactly a new development," Yahiko sighed out, taking a moment to wonder if Itachi was ignorant or in denial of his good looks.

"Not exactly a _good _development either! You _know _who he is!"

"Hey, it's not like you can get him knocked up with some incestuously deformed baby, Itachi. Who says you can't have a little fun, huh?"

"Every moral code in every society in the last hundred years, at least."

Yahiko snorted indignantly. "So? What's a hundred years of morality? My great aunt Hana is already a hundred and seven, and I'd bet she doesn't care one way or the other whether or not you fuck your brother."

"When did a silly crush turn into me fucking my brother?" Itachi whisper-hissed out, wishing that he could have shouted it but knowing that Sasuke might have somehow heard him if he did.

"Well, it's like this, Itachi – you're more scared of Sasuke's crush than disgusted by it, clearly. So, my prediction is that by the end of his internship, he'll be doing sexual favors for the boss."

Itachi vehemently disagreed, and expressed as much using a great many rational reasons.

But that didn't change the fact that beneath it all, they both knew Yahiko was right.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry it's so short and filler-ish, but honestly aren't you surprised that this fic even still exists? **

**You can go ahead and review now. Yes, Sebastian, that's an order. **

**I LOVE YOU GUYS FOR READING! **

**-Beloved**


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